Blown plastic containers that are manufactured on a wheel type molding machine are usually separated from the mold sets in which they are formed when each mold set is at the 12:00 o'clock position on the mold machine. At this location, when the radially aligned mold halves are vertically aligned, the lower mold half is separated from the upper mold half to allow the molded container to be separated from the mold set.
However, it is desired that the container remain with the upper mold half until a subsequent position of the mold set carrying wheel, and notwithstanding the force of gravity that would otherwise cause the container to fall from the upper mold half.
Heretofore, this problem has been addressed by including a fixed retention element as part of the upper mold half, the retention element having an undercut near an inner end thereof that engages a portion of the molded article in an interference fit. Unfortunately, the molded article must then be stripped from the mold half that has the retention element, and the quality of the ejection of the container from such mold half during such stripping is inconsistent and often requires remachining of the undercut in the retention element to achieve acceptable ejection of the molded article.